Event || Genesis (Conclusion)

[melodiesmods]

Characters: Everyone!
Where: Aqures Tosf.
When: Night of August 03rd, twenty-eight years in the past.
Summary: As the Heroes of Light were transported to the past, it is now the conclusion of their time travel adventure. It is the final night of the Festival of Light and the city is filled with visitors-- As such, it is estimated there are currently at least a few million people on the Island. Can they be saved?
Warning: Terrible things.

Princess Sarah
The End of Aqures Tosf
The Temple of Fire
The Crystal of Fire

Comments

[tacticallyminded]

...That's...

[No. That--that can't be. She thought they were benevolent. That they... it means they have to sacrifice lives. Robin's eyes widen and she takes a step backward, as she realizes.]

[This was what Kalki wanted them to find out. That the crystals that brought them here... that they used the deaths of others.]

...it's too horrible...

[thegreatninja]

[Yuffie glares at Kalki.]

THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US! YOU WERE THERE KALKI! YOU COULD HAVE TOLD US! WE COULD HAVE STOPPED THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN BUT INSTEAD YOU SEND US HERE?!

[She's shaking and about to jump at Kalki.]

[unyieldingspirit]

[She takes half a step back, ears flattening. Something about this world has seemed wrong to her, ever since she saw Thancred's double. To hear that this crystal shines because of the death of the city's people… and what that means for them…]

No…

[crystals, and sacrifice. And a legend…

Perhaps it's a good thing that Yuffie's words filter through to her.]

Then is not the same as now! [this Kalki hasn't done those things at this point.]

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

"Death, that's what powers the crystal." A voice that has, so far, been uncharacteristically silent. "You need the energy of thousands of deaths? And that energy has to come from somewhere, or we're never summoned, and the whole timeline blows?"

Captain Jack Harkness steps forwards, looking not at any of them, but gaping up at the Crystal. It's stupid. He doesn't come back to life here, does he? But how is it even possible to remove his connection to the Time Vortex? The energy's got to exist in some form, right? And he's the center of the entire damn thing.

Fearlessly, Jack approaches the Crystal, getting dangerously close to the energy that surrounds it. He holds up a hand, as if testing for a reaction in the air. But it only hardens his resolve, as he turns back around to face the heroes. "It doesn't work, I won't hold it against anybody."

"But maybe some deaths count for more than others."

Jack draws his sword, and offers it hilt-first towards the Heroes.

"Kill me."

[red_planet_blues]

[There's a lot to be angry about right now, and before Sparks can properly react, Jack steps forward with his offer. After a moment of disbelief, he pushes the hilt of the sword away.]

What? Are you outta yer mind? What is that supposed to mean. How could it even work like that?

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

The Marshal. Always a voice of reason, and yet Jack thought he was going to have to keep Sparks from doing anything rash. But he might believe Jack.

Jack looks mostly at Sparks, but tries to project to the entire crowd. His voice is even, but he speaks quickly. "I have died tens, hundreds of thousands of times. And have come back to life. Every single time. Shot, stabbed, drowned, fought in every war you could think of, blown up, buried for two thousand years. I've done it all. Seen enough, lived enough, died enough."

He glances around, nods at a few familiar faces, Johnny, Yuna, Rikku, Cloud. "Some of you saw this. You know I'm telling the truth. Dying and returning, over and over. And maybe that's what this crystal needs."

He shifts his stance, wraps an arm around himself in part of his normal command pose. "You're going to try to talk me out of it, maybe it doesn't count, because it didn't happen on Crystallis. Maybe it's only trading one life for another. But if there's a chance, that I can put all those deaths to some good use. Then it's worth the try. If this thing wants death, there's nobody better than me."

The hand with the sword extends again, offering it up to whomever will take it.

[bloodynine]

"You want to die, you came to the right man."

Husks a low voice from the back, the tall northman shouldering his way forward, and looks at the sword for a minute. Logen reaches toward the sword with his right hand, as though to take it. Instead, he brushes it aside then, surprisingly quick for a man who appears to be on the long side of thirty, his left hand dips down and snatches a knife from his belt, spiking it towards Jack's heart.

"All I was ever good for, anyway."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

The last look on Jack's face is one of startled surprise, almost amusement. Whether his stupid plan works or not, Jack will never know, but maybe that wasn't the point.

Not his finest last thought, as the dagger plunges in: Well, shit. That's how John would've done it.

The body crashes to the ground, and it's left for the Heroes to see what, if any difference, it made. One death for one life, or all his deaths for many lives?

[tacticallyminded]

Hold on! Shouldn't we think this through!? Before--before we--

[Too late. Jack's run through by Logen, the knife sticking out of Jack. She stares down at him, then up at Logen. She sputters.]

[She doesn't quite believe it came to that.]

That--you--

[bloodynine]

Yeah. Figure there's some reason men like me got brought here. To do the killing that others won't.

[ He stares down at robin, his deep-set blue eyes cold, like the winter north of the Union. ]

Figured it'd best be someone who already killed all his friends, least those that didn't try to kill him.

[ He turns his back on the slumped Jack. ]

[neverfirstclass]

Wait...you can't be serious. This can't be...

[Like Robin, Cloud's protests come too slowly. He turns to Logen, gaping in shock.]

Why would you do that?

[Thanks to the visions he's had of his future, Cloud knows well the cost and value of sacrifice. But there's something wrong about this one. It all went too quick. Too easily. And all without knowing if it would actually help anything.

He looks at Jack's fallen body and keeps focused on Logen]

How can you kill someone so easily? An ally!

[red_planet_blues]

[A hand grabs Logen's shoulder and spins him around. Sparks might be toothpick thin and not particularly tall, but he sure carries himself like someone much bigger with how he is right there in Logen's face.]

I guess everyone here is outta their dang mind. How do you have any proof at all that you didn't just kill him for absolutely no reason?

[He turns to the others now as well.]

So let's think this through before we start panickin' and murderin' all our allies, ya got it?

[bloodynine]

I don't see anyone else here asking for death. So I don't reckon I need to kill anyone else. Right now.

[ He stares Sparks down, his eyes almost empty of emotion. ]

I kill easily because he asked to die. I reckon most of the allies I killed tried harder not to be killed by me. That I can remember, at least.

[ he shrugs. ] I figure a man like that knew what he was doing, and what he was asking for, in a place like this. Death is cheap for us.

[makingfriends]

[Ventus isn't looking his best, either, but he's here and (mostly) functioning, and agitated that this puzzle is the focal point of all this when there are still people getting attacked outside. As antsy as he is, he nonetheless forces himself to stay and listen--

--and, like the rest, he's still mentally reeling from what Kalki says when that awful exchange occurs -- and it's shocking enough that he's voiceless for a long moment.]

But that...!

[His fists clench, but he bites back his objection. Didn't he do the exact same thing once? Asking his friends to kill him for a greater cause -- he doesn't like this, not at all, but he can respect the decision that was made, at least. So he lets the others speak up instead, forcing his attention back to the bigger problem at hand, like he knows he needs to do.]

Then what about the crystal?

[Did it do anything, after all?]

late to the party

[wickedone]

Once Albel finally fought past the crowds and the monsters, and other Heroes calling him a monster for not bothering to help with the attacks, he finally made it into the Crystal Room.

And froze.

It was the Time Travel Man... and someone... both Heroes. And yet...

"What are you doing?" he roared, going for his katana. He couldn't understand, why were Heroes suddenly killing each other now?

I'm late too, but I know you wanted this CR.

[bloodynine]

"Killed a man what asked to be killed."

He shrugs and gestures with his knife.

"I reckon that's what you do, if a man asked to die."

[wickedone]

"What sort of a man asks to die?" Albel gripped the sword firmly, keeping an eye on Logen and his knife. He'd only spoken to Jack briefly, but the other man didn't seem to have any wish for death.

Albel wasn't sure what to believe.

[gomu_ningen]

Luffy merely watches, not an inch or twitch of a reaction coming from him as his arms cross over his chest. He stares towards Jack, over the few others now surrounding them as they look on to the man who so selflessly (at least on the surface) asks to be their lynch-pin of hope.

"He's right."

He pushes past the first couple of people, looking for the sword and knowing that there's only one way for this to go. It's never been in him to take a life from some one else, his countless fights resulting in the defeat of his opponents but letting them remain alive to live and learn what it means to be a real "man".

And yet, the sword is taken, fingers lacing around the handle as it's held up to admire and look upon. He's only ever drawn a sword once before, and Jack is no where near the twisted visage of the Fishman he'd attempted to slice all those years ago.

"You of all people know the weight of "life". But you're gonna' ask these "heroes" to take some one's life? Ain't that kinda' messed up? You don't want a hero to have to live with that, do you?"

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

Luffy. Where others dismissed his rage, his pain, Jack knows what he sees in the man. Someone who wants to change the world, probably more badly than anyone else. And Luffy understands what would drive Jack this far, in an attempt to change the future. Didn't Luffy say it? That if they weren't willing to put their lives on the line, then the fight meant nothing? From one Captain to another, he looks Luffy dead in the eye as he approaches, as Luffy takes the weight of the sword for himself.

"Good thing I'm not asking a hero to."

Take the burden for them. Let the Heroes go sit in our nice houses, let us get the wonderful stories told about us. There need to be people who aren't heroes, to get the real work done. Luffy knows it. Jack gets it.

There is a slow, deep breath, and Jack lets his arms fall to the sides, gives Luffy a clear shot. There is so much that could go wrong. He could not come back at all. But whatever happens, he is ready.

[gomu_ningen]

Luffy twists the sword around, looking at it from every possible angle before he finally makes his decision.

"You're joking, right?"

The next sound that is heard is the sound of metal cracking, the sharp twang of steel being broken in half as the lad snaps the sword in two as if it were nothing more than a twig or a switch. Pieces of the blade crumble to the ground, falling and littering the floor on which they stand as a testament to many things.

It wasn't to prove a point of strength or conviction. Luffy knows all to well the character of the man standing before him. Despite knowing the ability for which Jack speaks of, there's more to be said here than trying to act big or overstep boundaries.

"Who the hell do you take me for? I'm not here to kill a friend."

A single foot brushes the debris out of his path, pushing along the remnants of the sword before a hand come up to clutch Jack by the collar of his shirt.

"Out of my way. You're not here to die a hero. You're here to live as one. Stand aside and let some one who's got a reputation for pissing people off take the fall, will ya'?"

It isn't said as a request, and it's quite obvious from his tone and eyes that the pirate is deadly serious in his proposal.

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

Jack blinks as the blade shatters, and he suddenly realizes that he should have expected this course of action. Maybe. It's rare for a friend of Jack's to not at least send him to his death, if not outright kill him with their own hands. (Currently, Martha Jones holds the prize for Jack's Best Friend on virtue of not killing him or getting him killed.)

Luffy grabs at his shirt, and Jack grabs at his wrist right back. The look in his eyes shakes some of the bravado, turns more desperate. "It's death that it wants, not life. It has to be me. You think two will do the job better than one? Then we do this together. Gamble that we get pulled back in time, come back with the others? Or that maybe one extra death is enough to satiate this thing's hunger?"

Jack leans in, looks Luffy strictly in the eyes, so close he's almost seeing double. "Two thousand years, alone, in the dark, suffocating, coming back to life, just to fear and suffer and die again and again and again. And it was for nothing. Worse than nothing, because I awoke just in time to see two of my friends killed. Let me do this. Let me make all of this worth something."

Jack's hand slides up, grips around Luffy's fist. "Together."

[gomu_ningen]

"I don't care about your dead friends. What I care about is a man standing in front of me who doesn't have a damn clue about how valuable his life is, whether he's able to spend it like cash or not."

Luffy's hand peels away, breaking free of Jack's grasp as the two lock eyes in the desperate bindings of one another's resolve. They're practically combating with their eyes, the pirate trying to make his stubborn point known that Luffy does not believe his life to be worth the risk.

Luffy is the first to break their gaze, stepping back a step or two before the shirt at his top is ripped away. A giant "X" marks his front, layers of flesh seemingly burnt to the bone as the new wound is far more fresh than it should be.

"You're too much a hero for your own good. It's better a criminal be the one to go. Besides, if I live, maybe Sarah will bring me a banquet."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

A hand almost wants to reach out, touch the wound, something old, but ripped open new again. He looks to Luffy with genuine concern, even as, deep down, he understands it. The scars that get wiped back away every time Jack comes back. This is what he should look like. Not everyone else gets the luxury.

His hand falls into a fist, before it makes contact. "It's my life. And it's never been more valuable than when it's being lost."

"I'm not the hero of my world. The Doctor is, Ianto Jones is, not me. I caused the planet to get decimated, taken over by the most evil man I've ever known. I'm the man who would have let the entire world fall to ruin to get back the man I loved. I killed my own damn grandson!"

Now he does reach out and grab Luffy's torn shirt, and yells in the man's face, holding back the tears that want to come. "What do I have to say to you to convince you that my death is more valuable than my life!? I am no hero, I'm barely a man at all, unable to protect the people I care about! Just finish this! Then maybe Sarah will live."

[gomu_ningen]

"It's because you can give away your life so easily.. I can't let a friend die like that. You don't even know if it'll work."

The straw hat comes off of the top of his head, an arm reaching out to the equal height of the man standing before him to rest the worn treasure atop his own dome.

"This isn't up for debate. Captain's orders."

He gives the hat a firm push, ensuring that it remains atop the man's head.

"Hold on to it for me, until I come back, got it? That hat's my precious treasure, worth more than my life or yours. There's a sheet of paper in the ribbon. Make sure you don't lose it, got it?"

He doesn't dare raise his voice, not when Jack is already the one to break the calm manner for which they had been speaking.

"Zelda, Ramza, Yuffie, Bloom, Ib, even little Sarah.. They need some one who people can get behind, some one who won't give Ashe any lip. I'm counting on you, Jack."

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

What can he say to that? What can he even say to any of that? This man took the best that Jack had to give, every reason that Jack, himself, thinks he should die, and Luffy is the first person to refuse to kill Jack Harkness. Every failing he's had, every death that's followed in his wake, and Luffy says no. Even the Doctor, the man that Jack would follow into any danger, has never hesitated to allow Jack to throw his life away.

All Jack can do is accept everything that Luffy is, right back. Captain's damn orders.

"I- I won't lose it." Soft. Almost defeated, after what he's had to say before.

"I'll see you again." Firmly. It's so strange to be the person on this side of this feeling. Letting someone else take the fall, and not knowing whether they are the one to come back.